Iberian Federation
The Iberian Federation, popularly known as Spain, is a union of former Order administrative districts located in the Iberian Peninsula. These are further broken down into sub-units based on culture and language. Currently it is headed by First Speaker Carmen Barcena of the Federalist Party of Iberia. History Under the Order, Iberia was united into the global government. During this time the countries of Andorra, Portugal, Spain, and parts of France were under the control of the Greater Iberian Administrative Zone. The idea of a united Iberia had already existed at this time, and though controversial, Iberia managed to for the first time to truly become one entity. Following the Order's collapse the districts of the Iberian Peninsula quickly formed a federation in order to bring political stability and to acknowledge the tight economic ties each had developed under the rule of the Order. In the first election, the Federalist Party took control of the Upper House and appointed the First Speaker that remains in office today. The first actions of the new government were the laws known as the First Acts. These, which both denied metahuman abilities as a condition allowing for special treatment, and made anything that could potentially cause harm to people or property punishable by death. Critics have called these the "Intolerable Acts" and claim that they have the potential to condemn any metahuman who is struggling with controlling there abilities to death. These critics include the Reform Party and the Peoples Party. At the same time, the debate over the powers of government and the first of the independence seeking secessionists became vocal. Economy High protective tariffs isolate the Iberian Federation from the markets of the global economy. Any corporation seeking to expand its market in the Iberian Federation will find it more economical to open factories in the country rather than seek to have their product imported. However, these companies will often find competiton in the already established economy. Though labor unions are legal and common, the government is pro-businuess and supplies Iberian companies with heavy subsidies. Government and Politics Legislative Branch: '''The legislative branch is bicameral in nature. The Upper House is made of 80 district representatives. These district representatives write the laws of the country. Each district contains several sub-zones. These sub-zones each elect a representative to form the Lower House, and the Lower House is more diverse in composition due to the Lower House being made up of more specific areas and their opinions. The Lower House represents the people and edits and approves laws. These laws are then reviewed by the Supreme Court. '''Executive Branch: The First Speaker heads the executive branch. He or she is appointed by the dominate party of the Upper House until resigning or the dominate party changes. The First Speaker is present at all Upper House sessions unless on vacation or involved in diplomatic action at the time. In this case the Second Speaker, appointed by the First Speaker, is present. The Speakers are permitted to debate but cannot physically vote on a law. The First Speaker also serves as the chief diplomat and commander of the military. Judicial Branch: 'Local and district courts deal with criminal cases and appeals, but the Supreme Court is only involved in judicial review. The Supreme Court is made up of one judge appointed by every party with five or more seats in the Upper House and one candidate agreed one by the majority of other parties. Should this be an even number another judge is added by the vote of the Lower House. Major Political Parties *'Federalist Party of Iberia: Centre-right political party formed on the basis of a strong federal government, religious morality, and limited economic interference. Currently the Federalists hold 30 of 80 seats in the Upper House and 50 out 120 seats in the Lower House, and the First Speaker. *'Socialist Democrat Party of Iberia': Centre-left political party that supports extensive civil rights, moderate socialism, and separation of church and state. This party is divided on the federal government's role in the federation, some favoring strong federal government and others a confederation. Currently the SDP holds 20 seats in the Upper House and 40 seats in the Lower House. *'Nationalist Party of Iberia: '''The Nationalist Party of Iberia is a right-wing party strongly against allowing more independence to the regions that compose the federation. The party would also like to see a single national language and culture. The Nationalist Party holds 5 seats in the Upper House and 10 in the Lower House. *'Reform Party: The Reform Party is anti-tariff and opposes the legislation that refuses to recognize metahumans as separate from the average citizen, instead they believe the government should provide a variety of services for metahumans including optional separate schooling. They also support more independence for each district. They control 2 seats in the Upper House and 5 seats in the Lower House. *'''Other Parties: '''Various regional parties including the Catalan, Portuguese, and Peoples Party (each with a single representative in the Upper House) are dominant in some local regions. 15 members of the Lower House are not members of the Nationalist, Social Democrat, Federalist, or Reform Party. Major Legislation '''Act I: Guaranteed equality of all citizens; denied metahuman as a condition that could be used as a basis of discrimination, guarantee special privileges, or treated as a medical condition. 'Act II: '''Set the punishment of any person that "causes wanton destruction, pandemonium, and/or acts that could potentially lead to death or serious injury" to execution. '''Protective Tariff Act: '''Raised tariffs on most foreign goods and protected Iberian industry by providing government funds. Independence Movements Since the Federation's founding, many have been unsatisfied with the union. The regions that speak Galician, Catalan, and Portuguese each have their own grievances and own culture, and many fear the strength of the primarily Spaniard Iberian Nationalist Party and the Federalist Party. A counter-movement made up parties such as the Peoples Party, Catalan Party, and Portuguese Party, favors secession and independence for all ethnic areas that seek to separate themselves from the Iberian identity. Currently these parties are relatively weak, though they did better than projected in the Lower House. The biggest threat to the movement are parties that either advocate a stronger government or a looser confederation, both of which are strongly anti-secession. Citzenship Citizenship in the Iberian Federation is granted to any born in the country to citizens, be they naturalized or citizens by birth. It also may be attained by anyone able to trace their bloodline to a person of Iberian blood. Perspective citizens may also be naturalized through a difficult legal and testing process. Citizenship cannot be renounced, but no rights or privileges are granted to those outside of the country unless officially there for diplomatic reasons. Diplomacy The Iberian Federation maintains diplomatic ties with all nations in Europe and the United American Republic, however, the country is strongly isolationalist with more than 78% favoring complete disengagement in international politics. Embassies outside of the country are really only to function in the event of crisis as the country's enconomic system does not allow for any international enconomic partnerships. The embassies do, however serve as a place for perspective citizens to learn information on the country and may contact any of those discovered to be egilable for citizenship due to bloodline. The diplomatic relationship between the following countries and Iberia is known: *Ingaland: Ingaland and Iberia maintain a friendly though somewaht cool relationship. *Franco-Germany: The relationship between the Iberian Federation and Franco-Germany is luke-warm with both parties distrusting one another and having conflicting claims. *Greater Norwegian Republican Herske: Relations are strained between the GNRH and Iberia. The GNHR is seen as an aggressive power whose territorial ambitions could potentially trigger a global war. Fear of a Norweigian/Franco-German alliance has led to the miltary build-up that can be observed in Iberia today. *United American Republic: The UAR and Iberia have friendly relations and the Iberian Federation has attempted to reach out to the Spanish and Portuguese speaking population of the Americas. Military The Iberian Federation's military is well-funded and strongly supported by the current administration. Partly due to poor foreign relations with other nations in interior Europe and partly due to the isolationist nature of the counrty, Iberia has rapidly built up its military since the founding and has invested greatly in the technological development of traditional weapons systems. The Iberian military focuses on air superiority and anti-armor weapons. The current air force strength is kept classified, but they are known to possess stealth technology. A few known air vehicles include the following: *'2041 Gunship: 'A hybrid of helicopter and plane design, a 2041 typically carries twelve and is armed with laser guided missiles and .50 caliber machine guns. *'PT-95 B Fighter/Bomber: 'The principle weapon of the Iberian Air-force, armed with a variety of anti-air missiles in addition to laser guided air-to-ground missiles. *'PT-122 Vapor Bomber: 'A stealth bomber with a bomb bay able to drop hundreds of tons of bombs from a high altitude. Ground vehicles include tanks and APCS in addition to general transport vehicles. A few common vehicles include the following: *'Puma Pathfinder: 'A heavily armored recon vehicle that is also often used by the police as a patrol vehicle. *'QE-17: 'The primary APC of the Iberian military, stocked with Saturn anti-armor missiles as well as remotely controlled machine gun. *'M240 Tank: 'A very expensive tank with a computer guided targeting system and state-of-the-art body armor. *'Mechs: '''A total of 15 mechs were created by Iberian government. After they proved ill-prepared to handle rough landscapes such as moors and swamps, the project was abandoned and it was deemed mechs were too expensive, not agile enough, and unpractical. A total of 13 remain in reserve. One was destroyed in weapons testing, one was lost to swamp, and one was destroyed while testing agility. 124171.jpg|2041 Gunship 2490 Borig Fighter-Bomber.jpg|PT-95 B Fighter/Bomber Next-Gen-Bomber.jpg|PT-122 Vapor Bomber Puma.jpg|Puma Pathfinder Qe-17.png|QE-17 APC Titan thumb.png|M240 Tank cyclops.png|K-1 Mech Prototype Category:Nations